A Mom and Son Sharing Great Books We Find While Writing Our Own Books

There are few things more exciting to a ten year-old boy than aliens, so a story about Roswell in 1947 was a big hit in our house! Combine that with non-stop pursuit, and you have a sure winner!In Foiled, by Carey Fessler, good friends Kate and Billy live on a U.S. Army Base near Roswell, New Mexico. One afternoon, Billy shows Kate his “big secret” – pieces of foil that his dad collected at an alien crash site.

Agents from the CIA show up at Billy’s house that same evening, demanding that Billy’s dad turn over the souvenirs, and informing Billy’s family that they are being transferred to Germany immediately. Billy’s dad signals to Billy not to give all of the foil to the agent, and Billy asks Kate for help. The two friends escape through a window with one of the pieces of foil. They find themselves on the run from Military Police and the CIA!

Kate and Billy leave the base and begin a journey to Kate’s grandfather’s house more than 200 miles away, searching for a safe place to hide. As they continue their trek, they discover that the foil might have special powers. Their journey places them in situations they had never been in before, from stealing rides in the back of pickup trucks, to hitchhiking, to blackmailing a State Trooper so they can keep away from the CIA agent who is chasing them. When it seems like things can’t get any worse, trouble finds them again!

Foiled is a compelling read for middle graders. It combines historical facts about life on a military base and the crash in Roswell with a dramatic adventure by two eleven year-olds trying to outwit the CIA. The chase is thrilling and action-packed, perfect for the middle-grade reader.

Mr. Fessler has a fascinating website full of interesting facts: www.careyfessler.com. He fills in some details about Foiled (Kate’s father was a pilot in the 509th Bomber group, who dropped the atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki Japan in August 1945). He also shares much information in his media kit. His official “short bio” is:

The author was a ‘military brat,’ growing up on Air Force bases. He planted roots in Albuquerque, New Mexico before dropping out of college to travel the world. He enlisted in the U.S. Navy’s ‘silent service’—submarine duty and finally unpacked his sea bag in the ‘Land Down Under’—Sydney, Australia.

Mr. Fessler is the author of two other adventure books, one of which was just released and the other will be released next year. Shanghaied: Escape from the Blackwolf and Shipwrecked: Dragon Island both feature twelve year-olds Emma and Scott who are forced to join the crew of a submarine and have to find a way to escape. My son can’t wait to read them!

I received an advanced reader copy of this book so that I could provide an unbiased review of Foiled. Many thanks to the publisher and to Cary Fessler for the opportunity to read this book!